to be forever young
by JacksonFrost
Summary: And they're young and carefree and invincible- except when they're not. Next-gen drabble collection.
1. Victoire, Hugo

_A/N: for the **Drabble Challenge**_. _I have 30 prompts and am writing 300 word drabbles about the next-gen for each. please don't favorite/alert without reviewing!_

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_**to be forever young**

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**prompt**: shattered

**characters**: Victoire, Hugo, implied TeddyLily

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After Teddy leaves her, for Lily, she completely breaks. Her normally golden skin turns pale and drawn, she stops smiling, and becomes thinner and thinner until she looks like a single touch could shatter her. Add that to the fact that her grief is so raw, and her family tends to give her quite a bit of space, saying she needs it to heal- and besides, no one wants to openly pick sides.

Hugo, wrapped up in his ideas of chivalry and heroism, pays no mind and finds her one day, curled in a tiny ball, and feels a fierce surge of protectiveness run through him. "We're all so mad at her," he says abruptly. "She doesn't even seem to care. I know she's a Slytherin, not a Hufflepuff, but you'd think she'd have _some_ family loyalty."

He seems to tremble with indignation and Victoire smiles vaguely at him. He seems so _young _and then she realizes he's the same age as _her _and the tears well up in her startling blue eyes. "How could he leave me?" she cries, looking plaintively up at her younger cousin. "What's wrong with me?" The tears spill over, and she's crying in earnest.

Hugo wraps her in his arms as if she's a baby. "Nothing's wrong with you," he says, giving her a gentle shake for good measure. "Nothing. You're perfect. Teddy's an idiot.

Victoire attempts a watery smile. "She's your cousin too."

"She doesn't deserve any family loyalty right now," Hugo says darkly. "And besides, _you've_ always been my favorite cousin, you know."

Victoire doesn't say anything, just snuggles closer to him, taking comfort in his arms. She's broken, and it'll take more than nice words and even nicer gestures to fix that. But maybe she doesn't have to be completely shattered.


	2. JamesAlice

_please don't favorite/alert without reviewing, thanks._

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_**to be forever young**

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**prompt**: bleeding

**pairing**: JamesAlice

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He's always been a bit overdramatic at times, tending to lean more to the theatrical side of things. His mother laughs and tells him that while he may _look_ like Harry, he certainly got _her_ fiery personality. And when he's in love, he tends to lose all sense of reason.

"Alice," James shouts. "Alice, you can't ignore me forever!"

The snickers and wise remarks from his classmates predictably start, but James ignores them. Alice, however, looks horrified. "Come here," she hisses, dragging him into an abandoned corner. "What are you _doing?_"

"I love you," James says, dramatically clutching at her hand. "My heart yearns for you, I can't survive without you, I-"

"Stop it," Alice snaps, snatching her hand away. "I think you meant to say this to that awful Jessica Vane. Or any of your other numerous conquests."

James has the decency to look ashamed. "They don't mean anything, Alice. It's only you that I actually care about. I'll never look at those girls again, I don't need them. I need you!"

Alice shrugs, looks away. "I don't know if I can believe that."

He hastily pulls out his wand, and with a flourish, cuts his arm. "Look," he says, admiring the blood. "I'm bleeding for you. Just like my heart is bleeding for you."

"I know what bleeding looks like," Alice says coldly. "I'm sure my heart did the same when I caught you snogging all those girls."

James sags and the arrogance and laughter leave his eyes as the pain shines through. "I'm sorry," he says simply. "Please, can you ever forgive me?"

Alice hesitates slightly. "I don't know."

"I'll never make you bleed again," James whispers, and tentatively gathers her in his arms. "I love you."

And she kisses him, because maybe bleeding is worth _this_.


	3. LucyLorcan

_please don't favorite without reviewing, thanks (:_

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_**to be forever young**

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**prompt: **smile

**pairing:** LucyLorcan

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She's beautiful when she smiles. She knows it, she's been told _countless_ times. She doesn't bother to speculate what she looks like when she's _not_ smiling, it's easier just to smile and not ask questions.

Her sister will rage at her, all caught up in her own teenage angst: "Must be nice to have such a happy life, Luce. Must be nice to not have a care in the world, to have such a bloody happy face all the time."

Her cousins and her friends view her in the same light, albeit in a much nicer way. But when it comes time to pick out superlatives, Lucy knows what she'll get: _Most Cheerful, Lucy Weasley. Most Optimistic, Lucy Weasley. Biggest Smile, Lucy Weasley._ Different variations, same message.

Nobody questions if the smile's real, or notices that it never quite reaches her eyes. She's pretty when she smiles, and that keeps people from looking closer.

It's different with Lorcan. He asks her how she's doing, peering at her in a way that suggests maybe he notices if something's wrong, and maybe he cares.

And that's enough to make the walls start tumbling down, and Lucy starts smiling less when he's around, but it just means that she's becoming more genuine around him, and he knows it.

There's something about him that makes her open up to him, slowly at first, and then the words begin to spill out. She hates living in the shadow of her successful sister, she hates being so _fake_ all the time, she wants to scream and rage and not be perfect Lucy anymore.

Somewhere in the midst of her ranting, she begins to cry and he smiles at her as he takes her in his arms. "Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful when you cry?"


	4. ScorpiusAlbus

_please review!_

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**to be forever young**

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**prompt**: red

**pairing**: AlbusScorpius, implied RoseScorpius

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There are certain things that stand out in Albus' mind when he thinks of that summer- the scratchiness of his red blanket, the taste of sweat, the feel of Scorpius' skin on his.

The Shrieking Shack became their secret meeting place- only Teddy ever came up there, and that summer, he was too preoccupied with the Lily-Victoire drama to care much about what his god-brother was doing. And so they'd meet in the Shack, with the red blanket in the corner, and forget the reasons why they shouldn't be doing this, and focus on each other, and their overwhelming lust.

It was never an even relationship. Albus felt too deeply, he would cling onto Scorpius, wishing for more and more time. And Scorpius would push him away, tell him this was meaningless, slip away when Albus drifted off to sleep.

Albus pretended he didn't mind. Scorpius would pant out between his heavy, desperate kisses that none of _this_ meant anything, and Albus would agree, kiss him back, and agree.

And then one night, it's all over, the long summer drifting away into a faint memory. Scorpius won't make eye contact, won't respond to Albus' touch. And when Albus, voice cracking, asks what's wrong, he tells him. _"I'm in love with Rose, Al. We have to stop this."_

Albus can only nod and Scorpius looks at him with a mingled expression of relief, lingering lust, and maybe a smidgen of regret. "You okay?"

"Great," Albus manages, and flashes a brilliant smile at him. "It's fine. We knew it wasn't going to last."

"Yeah," Scorpius says gratefully. "Well, I'll see you around then."

Albus nods and once he's gone, collapses on the scratchy red blanket. He stares at it, trying not to cry, trying to forget. He's not very successful at either.


	5. DominiqueJon

_please review (even though this one is awful, sorry!)_

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_**to be forever young**

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prompt: **green

**pairing: **DominiqueJon

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Dominique grits her teeth and prods at the oozing wound. "It's _green._"

"That's what happens when a dragon bites you," Charlie says unsympathetically. "You're damn lucky it was a baby, not the mother. Why you would snoop around in that next, I don't know."

"Give her a break," his assistant Jon says, grinning at Dominique. "You'd have done the same."

Charlie glares at him. "Bill will have my head."

"It's just a scratch," Dominique says icily. "Dad doesn't have to know."

Charlie rolls his eyes. "I'm going to go tend to the dragon," he snaps. "Jon, if you'll tend to my niece."

She sticks her tongue out at his retreating back. "What's his problem?"

"You terrified him," Jon says, trying to look stern. "Scared the hell out of me, too."

Dominique has the grace to look abashed. "Sorry. I didn't realize there were baby dragons in there. I thought there might be abandoned eggs…"

Jon shrugs. "It's a good thing you checked. Probably better if you took someone with more experience," he adds, as he sloshes disinfectant on the wound, "but good instinct."

"Thanks," Dominique says, smiling brightly. "So I can still work with you guys after I graduate?"

"'Course," Jon says quickly. "I'd love to have you." He blushes. "_We'd_ love to have you."

"It's not so much green anymore," Dominique murmurs, looking down.

Jon looks at her. "It's pretty. Or you are. Merlin, Charlie's going to kill me."

"What?" Dominique looks up, unused to flirting- having an older sister like Victoire tended to overshadow her.

Jon laughs. "I'm really butchering this, but would you be interested in giving me a call or something when you get here next year?"

Dominique lights up. "Yeah," she says, boldly leaning forward and pushing his hair out of his eyes. "I would."


	6. TeddyLily

**to be forever young**

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**prompt**: candy

**pairing**: LilyTeddy

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Lily bounces up and down as she watches a stream of passengers leave the plane. Finally, finally, she sees Teddy, his face practically glowing as he waves frantically at her. When he reaches her, he scoops her up into a huge bear hug, as she giggles delightedly.

"How was America?" she asks breathlessly, once he deposits her on solid ground.

Teddy shrugs. "Not quite as good as Britain! Missed a bunch of people here." He winks, and Lily wonders if he's made the choice he left Britain to make- Lily or Victoire. Or life as a monk.

She grins at him to cover up her confusion. "Bring me anything?"

Teddy brightens. "Yeah!" He digs into his bag and unearths a few gaudily colored boxes. "Candy!"

Lily stares at him blankly. "Sweets? You brought me _sweets_?"

"Yeah," Teddy says, continuing to smile infuriatingly. "I have chocolate candy, gummy candy, all kinds of candy!"

"Great," Lily says flatly, spinning on her heel to leave. It was clear he made his choice, then. He probably bought Victoire a freaking diamond ring, while she got to make do with boxes of sweets.

"Lil," Teddy calls, laughing. The sound makes Lily's blood boil, and she continues to stomp away. "I didn't just get you candy, you know."

Lily pauses. "You didn't?"

"No," Teddy says, crossing the distance between them and taking her in his arms. He kisses her, slowly and deeply, and she instantly melts into him, kissing him back hungrily.

"You chose?" she asks, as she pulls away slightly, stars in her eyes.

"It's always been you, stupid," Teddy whispers. "Always. I just didn't know if it was right with our age difference so I needed time to think…but honestly, I don't think I care."

"I don't," she says decisively, and kisses him again.


	7. MollyLysander

_I'm going to the beach for a week, so before I go, I decided to update again (: please review!_

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**to be forever young**

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**prompt**:thorns

**pairing**: MollyLysander

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Sometimes Molly thinks that while Lucy got to be the perfect rose, she was the one stuck being the thorny flower that nobody wants. Really, she _knows_ that Lucy isn't as perfect as she's always trying to be, but Molly prefers to wallow in her own angst and remain blissfully ignorant about the inner feelings of her sister.

Basically, she concludes, she's a despicable human being, with more ugly thorns than pretty rose petals, and she's destined to remain alone.

But then there's Lysander, and she doesn't know why, but he's always there, constantly bickering with her, and okay, it's _obnoxious._ And he's always spouting off his stupid random facts that nobody cares about, and it's so Ravenclaw of him that Molly-a Gryffindor through-and-through (except for the chivalry thing, but she's working on that)- is opposed on principle. And he's so competitive that it drives Molly crazy—and then makes her want to compete with him even more.

Really, she's instantly irritated as soon as he opens his mouth, half the time. And she tells him this. Often.

And his response is always the same: a cheeky grin, a tweak of her hair, a "what about the other half, Mols?"

And she aims a well-placed kick at him and wrinkles up her noise and says something insulting—"the other half, I'm asleep from absolute boredom about whatever you're saying, Scamander."

And they laugh, because they both know that the other half of the time, they're secretly glad the other one is right there with them. They both have their thorns, and they're both generally unpleasant people to be around, but when they're together, the unpleasantness fades away into a perfect mix of bickering and companionship and okay, maybe a little bit of sparks.

And maybe they can be thorny together.


	8. MarcusRoxanne

_I'm AWFUL at updating. A million apologies. xx_

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_**to be forever young**

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**prompt**: escape

**pairing**: MarcusRoxanne

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He kissed her once. And she freaked out and ran away (it's what she does best) and that was the end of _that._

Because really, it's not _fair. _If she brought home _Marcus Zabini_ to a family dinner, everyone would _freak out._ But Rose can parade Scorpius around and everyone will fall all over themselves to praise the happy couple who are breaking prejudices.

"It's only okay if the Slytherin in question is a Malfoy," Roxanne will tell Fred bitterly. "And then it's fine because Ron and Harry made their peace. But suggest breaking the prejudice for all Slytherins- 'cept for our own, of course- and all hell will break loose."

Fred will roll his eyes. "Stop being a coward and blaming your freak-out on the family. You ran away from Marcus because you were scared."

And Roxanne will be left feeling miserable because okay, yeah, he's right, and now what?

She stubbornly remains in denial for a while longer, and then summons up all her Gryffindor courage and starts looking. She finds him in the Potions classroom and he looks up from whatever he was working on and sneers slightly. "Don't close the door, you'll need it open for an easier escape."

Roxanne flushes but doesn't back away. "Marcus, I freaked out." He snorts, but stays quiet. "I just- I'm sorry. I've never had a boyfriend, never even been kissed, and…" She trails off, blushing.

He tilts his head and studies her. "That's why?" She nods, and he slowly gets up and crosses the room to her. "Stupid girl," he breathes. "You don't have to be scared."

"I'm not scared anymore," she says stubbornly, and to prove it (to herself as much as him), she reaches up and kisses him. And suddenly, escape's the furthest thing from her mind.


	9. LouisMegan

_please don't favorite without reviewing, thanks!_

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_**to be forever young**

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**pairing: **LouisMegan**  
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**prompt: **fairytale

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He supposes it's a bit silly, but he always listened closely to his mother's fairytales and can easily see himself on a white horse, galloping to his princess' rescue. Love should be a fairytale, he thinks, and even though Dom tells him he's setting his standards a bit too high and James laughs at him for his "girly romantics," he patiently waits for his own princess.

And then there's Megan Finnigan, and she's much too coarse and a little too in-your-face and almost unbearably bossy (kind of like his cousin Lily, Louis thinks privately). But she has a beautiful smile and her chocolatey eyes are always so warm and she makes him laugh like no other.

And when she asks Louis out to Hogsmede, her warm eyes dancing, he finds himself eagerly saying yes. And when she spontaneously kisses him in the middle of the street ("I do think you've bewitched me with all your creepy Veela magic, Mr. Weasley," she giggles after the fact, when all Louis can do is stutter and stare at her), he thinks he might actually be insanely attracted to one Megan Finnigan.

And when he kisses her one day, she doesn't swoon and there are no birds chirping merrily in the background. Instead she looks at him, her brown eyes shining, and grins. "You're cute," she tells him, and suddenly he's the one blushing and stuttering again, and she smirks and kisses him.

"You're pretty cute yourself," he manages, and she snorts and rolls her eyes nicely, and Louis cracks an apologetic smile because Megan is not something as trivial as cute, she's beautiful and funny and strangely fascinating, but not _cute _and he likes that. And she's not the kind of princess who needs rescuing, but maybe this can still be a fairytale.


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